LAKEVIEW — No need to suffer train rides downtown and parking headaches for the best eats in Chicago.
Four Lakeview restaurants are back on the list of 2016 Michelin Bib Gourmands for having quality food for a good price. They join almost 60 Chicago restaurants, including well-known spots like West Loop's Girl and the Goat and Bridgeport's Nana.
The almost 60 Chicago restaurants who received a Bib Gourmand are not eligible for the coveted Michelin star, the recipients of which will be announced next week.
While no new Lakeview spots were in the mix, Ceres' Table, Chilam Balam, Tac Quick and Wood have returned to the Bib Gourmand list for at least the third year.
Past recipient Browntrout was absent this year. The farm-focused American restaurant closed at 4111 N. Lincoln Ave. at the end of August and switched to hosting pop-ups in the area.
Ceres' Table, 3124 North Broadway, relocated to East Lakeview in May 2014 after four years in Uptown. The Italian and Sicilian-inspired restaurant is celebrated for its swordfish carpaccio, arancini and lobster benedict. On Sundays through Thursdays, the contemporary American style restaurant offers a $22 trio fo pizza, wine or beer and a dessert.
The restaurant said on Facebook that the staff was "thrilled" to be included in "such great company" on the list.
Chilam Balam, 3023 North Broadway, offers Mexican small plates like shiitake mushroom empanadas and grilled lamb chorizo. Mexican-raised owner Soraya Rendon and chef Natalie Oswald work with regional farmers and switches the menu monthly to highlight fresh ingredients. "Check, Please!" reviewer P.J. Powers said Chilam Balam was "true farm-to-table cooking ... and I think you really taste it on the plate."
TAC Quick, 3930 N. Sheridan Road, has a huge menu of Thai dishes like catfish rice soup, coconut curry noodles and jungle curry (They also have a "secret" menu). TAC stands for Thailand's Authentic Cuisine.
Wood, 3335 North Halsted St., had "Check, Please!" reviewers raving in 2013. The Boystown small plates restaurant boasts Alinea alum Ashlee Aubin as its executive chef and specializes in farm-to-table dishes like chicken liver mousse, pork belly and steak tartare. Its brunch menu features blueberry panna cotta, corned beef hash and a fried chicken and honey-hot sauce breakfast sandwich.
"The food that we make here is really a labor of love. We do a lot of things the hard way ... but in the end, it's aproduct that we're proud of," Aubin said on "Check Please!". Wood invited customers to come celebrate its fourth Bib Gourmand award on its Facebook page.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
